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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. capital — money
  9. saw — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. capital — a city
  13. kick — in football
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. degree — from a university
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — child
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. degree — temperature
  20. drill — the tool
  21. present — a gift
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. present — there

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com